Features

T he experts agree. “Incentives will never make the wrong location right,” remarks Jay Biggins, managing director of Stadtmauer Bailkin Biggins LLC, an economic development consulting services firm based in Princeton, NJ.         “Incentives do not drive a project, but they are definitely a factor in the final decision making,” says Kathleen […]

“W e at Pfizer are here today with some good medicine: a shot in the arm for one of the greatest cities in the world,” Pfizer President and Chief Executive Officer Henry McKinnell said in May at a podium inside the drug-maker’s New York City headquarters.         McKinnell and Pfizer did indeed […]

I ndustrial activity south of the Rio Grande and north of the Great Lakes tends to rise and fall with the U.S. economy. In Mexico, border regions are beginning to benefit from optimistic manufacturers hopeful of a break in U.S. economic doldrums. Up north, regional organizations are working to alleviate traffic headaches and improve infrastructure. […]

Toyoda Gosei Ramps Up Czech Facility Toyoda Gosei recently began full production at its new facility in the Chomutov region of the Czech Republic. The plant represents an investment of about US$45 million and will eventually employ 700. Toyoda Gosei of Japan, the world’s third-largest manufacturer of airbags and steering wheels, has begun full-time production […]

M ore than 430 foreign firms – mostly U.S.-based companies representing service, manufacturing and retail industries and the offshore energy sectors – have set up shop in Atlantic Canada.         Whether their operations are in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island, most industry players are drawn to […]

  Dear Fellow Professional: IAMC has just completed its first year of existence and we already have more members than our most ambitious and optimistic founders thought possible in this time frame.         Moreover, we already have two incredibly successful Professional Forums under our belt and have our third Forum ready to […]

S ite Selection: Describe the scope of your responsibilities as Masco’s Director of Property Management. David Hirsch: It means I’m responsible for 44,075,436 square feet [4.1 million sq. m.] of buildings in the world. That’s 32,935,061 square feet [3.06 million sq. m.] domestic and 11,140,375 square feet [1.03 million sq. m.] non-U.S. That’s 149 manufacturing […]

S ignificant growth in Masco Corp.‘s Delta Faucet division has prompted the expansion or initiation of several projects in the past 18 months. But few have been as influenced by Mother Nature as the construction of a new, 200,000-sq.-ft. (18,600-sq.-m.) central distribution center in Jackson, Tenn. Ground broke in July 2002 at a site adjacent […]

“‘T'” is for Texas,” goes the ancient country twanger.         But “T” is for a lot of other things, too – Tundra and prime-time truck turf, for example – in explaining Toyota’s decision to locate its 2,000-employee, US$800-million plant in San Antonio, Texas.         The assembly operation will annually […]

T he sun had already set on the Alabama State Capitol on April 1, 2002, when then-Gov. Don Siegelman received the phone call that would change Montgomery forever.         Dong Jin Kim, president and CEO of Korea-based Hyundai Motor Co., was on the other end of the line. Governor, he said, I […]

  Palm Harbor Program Highlights Proficiency and Profitability Here are some highlights of the highly successful IAMC Professional Forum held April 6?9 in Palm Harbor, Fla., covered by the Site Selection team of Director of Publications Ron Starner, Editor Mark Arend and Executive Editor of Interactive Publishing Jack Lyne. Look for further coverage at www.iamc.org. […]

W hoever said that Americans can’t build good cars hasn’t taken a tour lately through the heart of the United States.         From Michigan to Alabama, factories churn out millions of popular, high-quality vehicles every year. And the proof isn’t just in record sales numbers and customer satisfaction reports. It also comes […]

A s much as any multinational corporation, United Technologies Corp. (UTC) embraces both new and traditional industrial economies. The Hartford, Conn.-based company’s range of subsidiaries extends from the legendary Otis Elevator to its International Fuel Cells division, as well as including Pratt & Whitney, Carrier and Hamilton Sundstrand. All of these operations add up to […]

C ome on down and do a sale-leaseback right now. Get a high price; pay a low rent. Hurry. This is a limited time offer.         For the past year or so, investors across the board have been re-evaluating their commitments to the stock and bond markets, sizing up alternative investments, and […]

ver the past 30 months, United Technologies Corporation has slashed $40 million from its 58 million-sq.-ft. (5.4-million-sq.-m.) domestic real estate portfolio, thanks to the help of a strategic alliance with United Systems Integrators Corp. (USI) of Stamford, Conn. Today, USI is expanding its efforts to include United Technologies’ international portfolio. All told, USI is now […]

R anked by Site Selection as the third-best state in the nation in attracting new and expanded corporate facilities, New York is experiencing a resurgence across its business communities. Governor George Pataki’s lower tax policies and investments in promoting high-tech, industrial, and transportation projects have tremendously helped the state recover from the devastating affects of […]

C all it coincidence, but much attention is being given of late to the importance of competitiveness in the context of economic development, including here at Site Selection. No fewer than three new resources are suddenly at the disposal of corporate real estate executives and others charged with selecting the best location in which to […]

Visteon Builds Facility in France Automotive supplier Visteon has invested 30 million euros (US$33 million) in its new factory next to the PSA Peugeot-Citroen assembly plant in Noyal/Chatillon-sur-Seiche near Rennes, France. The 177,600-sq.-ft. (16,500-sq.-m.) facility will support current and future business with PSA. The plant will employ 400 at full production, manufacturing and assembling HVAC […]

W ith the Site Selection Competitiveness Awards having been created to honor state economic development teams, our Top Groups designation has been reserved for those metro, town and county teams that are so often at the nexus of any deal. Why? Because they literally know the lay of the land better than anybody else.   […]

O ABOVE: In January 2003, crucial green lights from both the city council and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enabled brownfield redevelopment work to move forward on this bundle of some 250 former industrial properties along the Rio Salado in downtown Tempe, Ariz. – the largest piece of undeveloped land left in the entire city. […]

O ut of the old. Into the new.         Despite rising vacancy rates in the industrial property sector – from 8.3 percent in 2001 to more than 10 percent at the end of 2002 – corporations are bypassing existing space and ordering new built-to-suit warehouses.         At First Industrial […]

T he people whose pictures you see here are members of a select group. In recent weeks, I have asked these corporate real estate executives, economic developers, service providers and other industry players to serve on Site Selection’s Editorial Advisory Board, and they have graciously accepted that invitation.         My colleagues and […]

I llinois has broken archrival Michigan’s five-year claim to having the most new and expanded facilities in a calendar year – by just three projects. The 2002 almost-tie is testament to the Midwest’s economic strength; Ohio and Indiana also made the Top 10 list.         Illinois, however, like virtually all states, saw […]